Zerion: The DeFi and NFTs portal we all need w/ Evgeny Yurtaev

On this episode of On The Ledger, host Mo Sayed welcomes Evgeny Yurtaev, co-founder of Zerion, for a weekly rendezvous from Paris. They delve into the future of user experience in the world of crypto, DeFi, and NFTs, discussing DeFi accessibility, user experience, and Zerion’s story and vision for the future of the space.

Key Highlights:

Zerion’s Genesis and Evolution

Zerion’s journey began with a pure enthusiasm and love for the idea of Ethereum and the world computer, as co-founder Evgeny Yurtaev explains, stating that this initial passion still drives the three co-founders. 

They started by building various projects, with their very first endeavor being a blackjack game purely based on Ethereum, requiring a 20-second wait for every move via smart contracts. Initially called Ethereum Lab, their focus was on building smart contracts and experimenting. 

The official Zerion timeline began around the end of 2018, evolving from a series of different projects.

Evgeny describes Zerion using an analogy to traditional brokerage services like Robinhood or Revolut, explaining that 

“We now have this decentralized finance and you need an interface to essentially make operations transactions there, you know, buy stuff, sell stuff, send money to friends etc. so that’s what zirin is in essence”. Evgeny

Adapting to the Changing Crypto Landscape

Zerion’s functionalities have continuously evolved with the space. 

Initially, they focused on automatically discovering and tracking tokens across the blockchain, aiming to replace manual spreadsheets. With the emergence of Maker, Compound, and Uniswap, Zerion adapted to support new token types like CDPs and LP positions, which were complex for new users to understand.

The use cases for Zerion and its users have shifted over time:

• Early 2019: Focus was on borrowing stablecoins with crypto holdings.
• Next Narrative: Earning higher yield on stablecoins compared to traditional banks.
• Bull Market (2020-2021): A significant part was focused around trading and NFTs.

Zerion acts as a marketplace, reflecting user needs and supporting popular trends by growing its features.

Revenue Model and DeFi Accessibility

A unique aspect of Zerion is its revenue generation. 

“The only way Zerion currently makes money is through positive slippage”. – Evgeny Yurtaev

This method, inspired by 1inch, involves aggregators sharing a portion of the slippage with the interface that generated the trade. However, this has not proven to be a scalable revenue model, and Zerion anticipates a different monetization strategy in the future, possibly through fees integrated into features, similar to MetaMask and Ledger.

Regarding DeFi accessibility, Zerion’s philosophy is distinct. While they previously experimented with abstracting complexity. This means calling things what they are on the product side while still making them user-friendly. 

“Zerion feels like having the best of both worlds. You get the UI and the UX of what too and then the core of the you know the benefits of a decentralized core of web3”. – Mo Sayed

Collaboration with Ledger

Zerion is available within Ledger Live, allowing users to access its functionalities securely through their Ledger devices. The integration allows Ledger Nano X users to connect via Bluetooth and swap assets directly from their device, which is highly appreciated by users. 

Zerion has also added NFT support, with features like floorbot to see NFT floor prices. While many exciting NFT features are in the pipeline, Zerion’s current focus is on improving its core to scale for future use cases, ensuring it evolves without constant reinvention.

Key Insights on the Future:

Evgeny Yurtaev

• Bridging blockchains is DeFi’s biggest hurdle; solving it would enable seamless multi-chain transactions, even if users are unaware.
• Evgeny believes the EVM’s network effect ensures its longevity due to its compatibility across various chains used by major projects.
• Zerion aims to be the daily Web3 wallet, extending beyond finance to P2E and NFTs, emphasizing secure private key storage and dApp connectivity.
• Tokens are crucial for marketing and fostering engagement.
• DeFi’s success means users interact with Web3 unknowingly, finding it superior to traditional systems.

Reading List

Learn more about these topics mentioned in the episode, or explore our library of articles on Crypto, Security, and Regulation on Ledger Academy

• What is DeFi (Decentralized Finance)? 
• Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Meaning
• Introducing the new Zerion 
• How to Create a DeFi Portfolio